Continental Tire IMSA Spotlight: Filipe Albuquerque

IMSA Spotlight: Filipe Albuquerque
Driver: No. 5 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
Follow: @AlbuquerqueFil

How excited are you to see your role in with Action Express expand in 2018?

“I am very excited. Its a honor to sign for a full-time drive for a team like Action Express, and especially in such a moment when the American endurance racing is the place to be.

“To team up with Joao [Barbosa] for the full season, it’s going to be perfect because he has a lot of experience and we got to know each other even better after working with together for the past 2 years in endurance.

“Christian Fittipaldi will be helping us for the the endurances races and he will be supporting the whole team at the track with his experience and knowledge.”

How tough do you expect the competition in the Prototype class to be next year?

“I think it will be very tough. The rules in American racing do not allow anyone to pull away, and at the same time everyone needs to fight hard for track position because we never know when will it be the last safety-car.

“As we have seen at Petit Le Mans, racing was getting very intense and pretty crazy through traffic. Next year with more cars, more manufacturers, more top level drivers, it can only get even better.”

Is there a track on the IMSA schedule that you haven’t been to before that you’re excited to race at next year?

“There are so many! I only know the four endurance races so I will enjoy the challenge to get to know them all and to be on pace with the short time of free practice.

“Many people tell me about Long Beach, watching it on TV makes it one track that I am really looking forward to race. Detroit, Laguna, Road America, Mid Ohio, well, I guess it’s the whole calendar!”

What about racing in North America appeals to you?

“I fell in love with American racing when I raced for the first time at Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2013. Since then, I always wanted to do more and more races.

“The tracks are definitely one thing that appeal to me. The tracks have a lot of charisma and you pay when you make a mistake. There is no asphalt beyond the track, and no track limits like in many European tracks.”

Outside of motorsport, what other sports do you follow?

“Lately I have been quite busy and I didn’t have the time to follow other sports but something that I would like to attend next year is the MTB Redbull Rampage, those guys are pretty crazy 🙂 I also follow football and tennis.”